RED ONION OF CERTALDO

Intense color and tasty flavour

May seem peculiar that a vegetable like onion can be reason of strong local identity. For Certaldo, a small village in the province of Florence and its inhabitants is reason for pride and essential ingredient in the kitchen.

The red onion of Certaldo, makes a fine show in the municipal coat of arms dating back to the 12th century, when the country, feud of the counts Alberti received the glorification by the most famous citizen of the country, Giovanni Boccaccio, who speaks in his 5th Book of the Decameron. There are two types of onions: Statin, collected in summer, from the color purple, juicy and sweet; and the spring season for the winter season, intense red, slightly flattened at the poles and pungent flavour.

The onion of Certaldo, now cultivated by a few local farmers, obtained thanks to the support of the “Consorzio Certaldo 2000”  on Slow Food. A recipe of Tuscan tradition, sees her wither in hot oil, pass through a sieve and lengthen it with broth and some potatoes in order to obtain a chocolate spread on slices of toast.